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Apollo CSM Panoramic Cameras (Show Apollo hardware on lunar surface!)

The Apollo Panoramic Camera (APC) was made by Itek and mounted in the Scientific Instrumentation Module of Apollos 15, 16 and 17. The film magazines were collected in an EVA performed by the Command Module Pilot once the crew were heading back to Earth.

Slits in the SIM bay allowed images to taken straight down, slightly forward and slightly behind. Each exposure was 45 inches by 4.5 inches, and was capable of extremely high resolution identifying objects as little as 1.5 metres across and the image as a whole covered a swathe roughly 290 km by 20 km. Motion control mechanisms compensated for the speed of movement, although this didnít always work properly.

The exposures were time stamped and details of the orbital altitude and camera angle were also recorded, as shown in this example from Apollo 16. Note that the Bulova clock (used on all missions) is a 24 hour dial and is tricky to read!

The Apollo Image Atlas also has a complete list of images, but in a much lower resolution format. The central portion of each image has been scanned as a PNG file, and also a large TIF image divided into 8 1.9 Gb tiles.

This is awesome, thanks so much for sharing. Working on a documentary about the hidden heroes of Project Apollo (@TimeForApollo When We Were Apollo Movie) and have seen so many photos of the Project but have yet to get an up-close look at these. Only wish there were some more photos of many of the people who worked for NASA etc. during the 60's and 70's as their stories are pretty important too... Cheers! -Sean